HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Firstly, I just wanted to say that because it is OFFICIALLY 2020!!! I am beyond excited for this year, like beyond!! I’m about to tell you why, but I thought it would be nice to tell you a little more about my 2019 and how it went down!!

So really I guess it started with a vision board (which was dramatically altered during the year). Why? Because I ended up starting this business! Here is how.

January 2019

New year, but still the same goal and that was to set myself up to leave Australia in 2020. But at this time it was through my travel blog (atravellersantics) and my podcast at the time “How do you solve a problem like Mariah”.

I had no real plan on how I would make this happen, but I was listening to my absolute business inspiration, Ruby Lee, on how to start a side hustle and turn it into a main hustle.

At the time, I was in the process of planning a trip to Europe, so instead of getting a bar job (like I was planning) I was using the freelancing app, Fiverr to get extra jobs.

I had a goal to do 40 jobs during the year, as I thought that it would be a good challenge and required around one job a week.

March

It got to March, and I had picked up a few jobs and was finding myself quite busy keeping up with these jobs and also managing a weekly blog and fortnightly podcast.

But I felt the two weren’t really getting me closer to my goals of monetising and making these my side hustle.

As I was discussing this with a friend at work, he said to me “Mariah, you write every day as part of your job, why don’t you just write for other people like you are as part of your side hustle”.

That is where it all began. I started listening to Ruby with a different vision for my side hustle and planned out what that would look like.

After listening to an episode about what I would call my side hustle, I came up with Content Queen (with inspiration from the TV show Broad City).

May

The months leading up to the launch of Content Queen were spent developing a website and planning out my business goals.

How did I do all this? With A LOT of research. I was listening to podcasts, reading articles online, the whole lot.

I did this while managing all the jobs I had coming in. This was not an easy process. But it is all about time management and setting time aside for business development.

In May, I also had the challenge of telling my boss I was starting a side hustle. I was SO scared about this aspect, and I didn’t want to launch my social media accounts and website until I had the chat about it.

I count myself lucky that I have a very good and understanding boss, so when I told him about it and explained how much I had learnt that I could bring into the business (also explaining how it would not impact my workload at work), he was very supportive.

If you are struggling to tell your boss, the best thing to do is explain why it will have a positive (or no) impact on your current role. Practice this conversation.

June

June 5 was the launch of CONTENT QUEEN!! One of my favourite moments in 2019 when I made the leap and hit publish on this website. I told all my following and called myself “open for business”.

A very proud moment for me. I think the one thing I learnt in this was when you put more energy into something, you attract abundance. In 2018, I probably got one job a month on Fiverr, and not even 12 months later, I was getting around five a week!!

August

I skip to August because this was a successful month for the business, but I credit it to all the hard work I did during the months of June and July.

During this time, I was attending a lot of events, meeting people and just talking about my business.

As I continued to listen to Ruby, I used a Facebook group called Australian Community Managers, to be involved in a mentoring program. Matt was my mentor, and he helped me SO much to develop aspects of my business. The parts I would not have even thought about.

Like the retainer package to obtain consistent clients. I also used the group called She Mentors (an incredible group of women), to be mentored by Nicole, who helped me look at what I was prioritising.

I also joined a lot of groups to start conversations and make connections with others! It was all about developing and growing.

It was in this time I decided to let go of my previous blog and podcast for the interim to focus on the business.

So I was full steam ahead, heading to Europe and setting myself up to work while I travelled to show others they can do the same thing.

August was where I also gained my first lot of retainer clients, AND I was SO happy about this. It meant I was setting myself up to make money while I travelled and also setting myself up for recurring income.

October

The month of October was a game-changer.

Before I set off for Europe, I decided to invest in Ruby as my business coach. An opportunity too good to refuse came up, and I took it.

Although it was going to be a big investment for my business, I needed to invest.

Europe was a great time for my business to think about where I wanted to be in the future. I thought about heading down the coaching path and using my experience working and travelling to help aspiring freelancers.

But when I returned, I started my business coaching with Ruby. As we started, I decided writing coaching was something I was going to put on hold as I developed my content marketing, content writing and content strategy packages!

NOW

Now, as we begin in 2020, my time with Ruby has changed the formation of my business. Now I offer businesses with a purpose help on their content strategy and content creation.

My business has changed completely, and now I have more purpose and structure to help others. As I come into January, I have a 2020 plan that will see me quit my full-time job and head on my journey, travelling and working for myself. MY 2020 MISSION!

Since working with Ruby, I have secured four clients who I work for weekly as I help them develop their content and content marketing.

I talk to people daily on the importance of content, and I help them with their struggles when it comes to content writing.

Closing reflection

For 2019, I set myself with the keyword to GROW. I wanted to grow myself and now looking back, not only did I do that, but I grew a business.

A business I never thought I would have this time last year. In that time I secured over 150 jobs (find out how I did that here), I invested in a business coach, I networked with as many people as I could, I signed up for mentoring, and I just used all the spare time I had to do what I love, and that is to write.

What are your intentions for 2020? If you are looking to grow, have you thought about content marketing? Have you looked at how you market to your target audience? Content marketing connects people to your business.

Level up in 2020 and start educating people about your business, my educate package can help you with just that!! Please send me a message, let’s get on a call and let’s get your content on point for your business growth!